After a mid-air explosion in one of its Trent 900 engines forced an emergency landing of a Qantas A380 plane in 2010, Rolls-Royce released a statement in which they regretted the incident.
Their statement came after the Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s final report on the incident blamed the engine failure on a crack in the engine’s oil feed pipe.
That crack, according to the report, allowed oil to release, causing an internal fire that spread to one of the engine’s turbine discs. The discs then over-accelerated, breaking through the engine’s casing and releasing high-energy debris which caused the explosion.
Additionally, the oil pipe’s wall sections had been judged by the report to be too thin, which “substantially increased the likelihood of fatigue cracking.”
“This was a serious and rare event which we very much regret,” said Rolls-Royce director of engineering and technology Colin Smith. “At Rolls-Royce we continually strive to meet the high standards of safety, quality and reliability that our customers and their passengers are entitled to expect. On this occasion we clearly fell short.
Effects of the incident
On November 4, 2010, the engine failure of the A380 occurred over Bantam Island, Indonesia, while the plane was flying from London to Sydney, stopping in Singapore. After the explosion occurred, the aircraft’s other systems degraded, though the flight crew safely managed systems failures before returning the plane to Changi Airport in Singapore, with no injuries reported from its more than 400 passengers.
After the explosion, engines deemed to have the incorrectly manufactured oil feed pipes were either removed from service or adjusted to ensure their aircrafts could continue to safely operate. Rolls-Royce additionally introduced software that automatically shut down any affected engines if their turbine discs were seen to have been overspeeding.
The ASTB’s report said the company missed opportunities to detect the faulty pipes, which could have caused the aircraft to crash. Rolls-Royce also improved their quality management systems and how they managed non-conforming parts.
High costs
Qantas airlines suspended flight of A380 planes for about three weeks, according to Reuters, after the explosion. Rolls-Royce later agreed to pay $88 million as compensation.
Rolls-Royce said in the statement they have applied new lessons throughout their procedures to prevent an event like the explosion from happening again.
The ATSB has shared its findings with the United States Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency.
Thorough and proper testing of parts and components can prevent dangerous flaws, saving companies on expensive maintenance costs.